Eco-living and values for the family!

Being eco-aware and Earth friendly as a family can be quite difficult. Obviously, two almost-two year old boys don't grasp the idea of "Darling, please turn the tap off, we can't waste water." Or "Please turn the light off, electricity is expensive." But we are working on that. 

What we can do as parents, though, is instill those values in our growing children on their level. Teach them to respect everyone and everything. Teach them that there are limited resources in the world. Help them understand that there are less fortunate people all over, not just in third-world countries, but just around the corner. 

I feel extremely fortunate to be raising my children and living in the one of the most beautiful countries in the world. And I want them to have that same feeling. Their home, their city, their country, their world.. is home. And it's the only one we may ever have.

Cloth Nappies

I know I've talked about cloth nappies before. But until we have finished potty training, we will still be using these. We do however use disposables when I know we will be out for a few hours and overnight. But just using at least one set of cloth nappies a day makes a difference. 

Cloth Wipes

It doesn't get much easier than this. When the kiddos are wearing cloth nappies, cloth wipes just go with the nappies into the nappy bin, after the poo is scraped into the toilet of course. No having to pull out wipes that can't go into the sewers.

Biodegradable Wipes

When we can't use cloth wipes, we use biodegradable wipes. Either Little Genie Brand or Silk. Luckily, we can find them at any of the larger supermarkets here in NZ. But if you can't, try the local co-op for something similar where you are. Also, if you live in an older house with older plumbing, DO NOT THROW "Flushable" wipes down the toilet. They are flushable, but they will get stuck on tiny little cracks in the pipes which means everything else behind it gets stuck and it's just gross, not to mention expensive to fix.

Highchairs - Wooden vs Plastic

This is more of a personal preference thing for me. Even though the plastic chairs we were looking at were easier to clean and quite durable and also quite a bit cheaper, we decided to go with wooden highchairs. I could go into detail about why plastic is bad and wood is at least a mostly renewable resource and will eventually breakdown, but you get the idea. For us, it was worth the cost to have something nice that was going to be a fixture in our house for quite a long time. Also, the chairs we did end up getting are super adjustable, and not molded plastic, so they will last the next few years. 

Both are available here from Mocka.

Potties

Again, with the plastic people! I know, I know, potty training, which will be starting in full force this summer (hopefully), shouldn't be yet another thing to think about in a "green" sense. And yes, I know, I know, you can get plastic potties for damn cheap, but what happens when the kids are properly using the toilet? They could probably be recycled, but after a little research, we found these. How could I say no?! A biodegradable potty that the boys can help put into the garden and help plant something lovely as a reward that they will remember... Um yes please. Two please!

The Library

Ok. No brainer. We are library regulars. We make a morning of it usually. We spend about five minutes getting books for me, and about 30-40 minutes reading and finding books for the boys. The boys have their own library cards, which the late return fees are a lot less expensive than an adult card. That's a bonus. After that, since our library in the city is the best ever, we go the cafe, and have a little lunch - where there is a play area for the boys to run around. Paying for parking, a couple croissants and a random late fee is worth it. While we do have heaps of books for the boys, it's nice to find new gems that the boys want read - over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and....

The Toy Library

The idea of a Toy Library was something completely new to me. Think a library but instead of books, you take out toys. How amazingly simple! Well, simple is the idea, it's actually quite impressive to run. As a member of the Toy Library, you pay a membership fee, pay for missing pieces of toys, and have to donate a small about time. But in return, you can take out toys that you maybe would never buy for your kids. Slides, water tables, play kitchens, heaps of different duplo sets and lego sets, dress ups, board games, puzzles, bikes... the list goes on and on and on! Then instead of having to throw them into the landfill if you had to buy them, you return them to the library and get something else and the next family can use it. I really think something like this would take off back in my hometown - looking at you Central Baptist Church ;) ! I love our toy library!

Eating Organic 

I can't stress this enough. We try to eat and use as much organic produce, meat and products as we can. We get the majority of our fruit and veg delivered to our front door from Vegeboxes and then do a fortnightly stock up at Commonsense Organics. I guess eating organic food is just the norm for us. There are heaps of articles and research about why organic is best, but for me, it all comes down to the way it tastes. If you can't afford to eat all organic all the time, find out about the Dirty Dozen or...

Grow your own!
In a couple years time, when the boys are bigger and able to help out in the garden a little bit more, I'd like to have a really well stock produce front lawn. Jacob does an amazing job for what little time he has, and just being able to have access to fresh herbs and a few veggies is really rewarding!
Below are some of our adventures in gardening!

 Raw Milk

Again, one of those things that we use for the taste and the benefits, which you can Google. Strangely, what sold me on it, was the fact that, because we order so much of it, we receive it in a 10L pail once a week that is then brought back to the farm. We have a cycle of glass bottles that we use to keep the milk in our fridge, which cuts down on all of the plastic jugs going for recycling.

So, in my mind, I think these little things will make the planet a better place, or New Zealand, or my boys' lives, or maybe it's just my conscience. But there are so many things you CAN do to help.

Hope this is helpful or a little inspiring to those that would like to do something!

I'd love to hear more ideas and things you do!! 

xx

A plastic-free life...

Is it possible?

It's something that I would love to achieve. Last week I realised how much our recycling had gone down. We recently started getting raw milk which is delivered in a 10L bucket that gets sent back to the farm every week. And we keep our milk in big glass 2.2L jugs in the fridge.

So that and getting the boys off formula recently (yaaayaayyyyy!) has cut down our fortnightly plastic/metal/paper recycling to one bag instead of two! That's pretty massive really.

But the question I have at the moment, plastic bags... The ones we do get from the shop are strictly used for rubbish. It seems sort of pointless to have my green bags with me everywhere if I'm still going to need a couple plastic shopping bags anyway! It's a stupid cycle that we need to break. It's the fact of the matter that they are STILL going into landfills. Frustrating!

We compost, we recycle, we try and avoid excess packaging, so that's all working. But we still have rubbish.

Then, I saw this image again recently and I started to wonder...

Yes, she is amazing. Always an idol, but the bin. A newspaper liner? This is what got me thinking. We don't need plastic bags at all... But what's the best way to go about this? Using newspaper and those pesky junk mail flyers to line a bin? A washable cotton liner? Or just go without all together?

What are your thoughts? How can we see an end to it?

X

 

The Hippie Ambitions of a Twin Mum - Part 1

When we found out we were pregnant, we were stoked. When we found out it was twins, we were scared. And to be honest, a little sad.

Let me explain. It's not as bad as it sounds. For me, I had my ideas and ideals already in my mind about how I wanted to bring a child into the world and raise a child. I wanted to have a water birth. Possibly at home. Meditation and calm during labour. Breastfeeding until the baby was at least two years old. Cloth nappies. Co-sleeping. All home grown and organic food. Making all of their clothes from NZ merino. The list goes on...

But when that "one" became "two", so much of that went out the window. Those ideals became un-achievables. That was the sad. A little heartbreak with the overwhelming joy.

The boys were born in hospital, in a bed that I couldn't move in, attached to so many beeping devices, there was no chance of getting my way there. But what I remember most days is NOT how I didn't have a water birth, or how I couldn't walk around and use gravity to ease the pain, I remember how lucky I am to have an amazing husband and two healthy boys.

So whilst my hippie, nature loving, eco dreams were somewhat crushed with the birth, there are so many things that you CAN do to still be an environmental friendly family. Even with crazy twin boys!

So we begin the journey with our tale of CLOTH NAPPIES!

Cloth nappies were going to be the go from even before we got pregnant. There were so many reasons why we wanted to go cloth - cost, environmentally friendly, and think about this - would you rather wear a soft cozy pair of undies or a crinkly, disposable paper undies? Hmmmm.. Yeah. Easy decision when you think about it that way, huh?!

There were so many choices and so many options when it comes to brands and styles. What we decided to use are considered pocket nappies. Basically, inserts and an adjustable shell with a pocket for the inserts. They clean up fairly easily and because you can separate all the parts, they dry relatively quickly. 

When you first look at the cost of investing, it can be quite daunting. They can go for about $20 per nappy. And when you have twins, that gets really expensive really fast! 

So with that in mind, I decided buying used nappies might be the way to go. Yeah, I know, it sounds gross. Someone else's kids used these before my boys... But how many times have they been washed and hung in the sun... After some convincing, it was exactly what we decided to do. It ended up costing us about $6 per nappy including inserts. Amazing! 

We ended up with a mix of two brands, Baby Cheeks and PeaPods. The boys have been wearing the Baby Cheeks since they were about 3 months old. The PeaPods we ended up with were larges, so they have just started fitting into them. And between the these two brands, I really like the PeaPods! They have foldable bamboo inserts that work really well! They are a nice simple design and feel quite soft and stretchy. They can wear the PeaPods for naps and not leak, which is good. 

For overnight though, we do put them in disposables. Mostly huggies. But again, because somehow, someway, these boys are prolific wee'ers... They wear a cloth nappy over their disposables at night. It's worth it. They never wake up at night from wet pyjamas anymore! What a hassle that used to be! 

Here are a few tips and bits and pieces that we have learned so far :

Getting rid of the poo : This is Jacob's favourite job! But for some reason we is extremely keen to share this job with me whenever possible... It's gross. Really gross. But the best tool I've found - an old heavy duty rubber spatula! You can scrape off even the worst poo-tasophe with a good one. 

Washing nappies : Be prepared to do a lot of laundry. And by this I mean A LOT of laundry. I have a load of nappies go through the wash about every other day. This is in addition to the normal day to day laundry. My life has become "never ending laaaaun-dryyyyyy".. Sing it with me... La da da la da da la da dahhh. 

I hate sunshine : Actually I lie, I love sunshine! (and you can never quote your favourite Disney movie too much) Nappies and inserts love sunshine too! Especially New Zealand sunshine, nothing like a lack of ozone to bleach out your clothes naturally! Whenever it's possible, they hang outside on the line soaking in the sun and being blow around by the our lovely Wellington wind.

Tea tree oil : A drop or two once in a while in a rinse cycle is great! Tea tree, as you may know, has antiseptic properties and it makes everything smell a bit nicer.

Speaking of the smell : Cloth nappies will be smelly sometimes. After a little while, wee soaked nappies can make your stomach turn. I find this happens when the weather isn't great and hanging them outside is nearly impossible. If your nappies aren't drying fast enough, trying popping the inserts into a dryer on a hot heat and the outers on an airing cycle in the dryer or hung in a room with a dehumidifier. Always check the washing label first before you use a dryer! The plastic backing can shrink and pull away from the nappy, completely ruining the nappy.. Trust me on this one, I've lost about 4 or 5 this way.

Liners : We were using liners for a while but gave them up. I can see why they promise longer life for your nappies, and while many brands claim to be flushable and biodegradable, they clog up our 100 year old plumbing. When you have to scrape poo off double the nappies, everything needs to be streamlined as well as possible. Liners were just making everything just that bit more difficult. 

Wipes : I just recently started using cloth wipes at home as well! I went out to the local recycle shop, picked up an old polar fleece blanket for $3, gave it a nice hot wash and dry and cut it into squares. That's it! No hemming, no edging, and because polar fleece is soft and cleans up so easily, I'm a little mad at myself for not doing this before! We still use biodegradable store-bought wipes when we are out and about, but heaps less than we have been. 

I'd love to hear from everyone else fighting to pooey battle in cloth! What are your best tips and tricks?? What type of nappies are you using?? 

x

Remember that table?

So now for a little while, we've been using this amazing amazing table...

All built my the amazing Jacob. Part recycled gymnasium floor with the free-throw line, part rimu posts from someone's old decking, lots of glue and lots of nails and a whole lot of sanding!

Putting the top together, and hand carved-planed posts magically turn into legs!

Timmy, give us a size reference. Thanks!

Sanding and planing the top. 

Framed and looking quite posh!

So proud of this guy! (sigh-love!)

Ok Bruce. Your turn.

The legs going on!!! Woooh!

A few more coats of varnish to go!

Done and looking completely amazing!

The table seats eight, but a Chili-Cook-Off with about a dozen rad peeps, no problems!

Not bad for Jacob's first major wood-working project, huh?! It looks so amazing! The amount of work that went into this, I feel like I'll never quite know, but I know he worked his cute butt off. Seriously. Work of art. And mostly from recycled timber and such!

I'm still so impressed! 

Leftovers... Fabric that is!

A few weeks back I decided that, as a family, we should be civilised and have some handy napkins to use at dinner. And as I've been trying to make an effort to finish projects, get rid of fabric and wool and art supplies I won't need, (which is harder than you may think) I decided to make some napkins!

Nothing like fancy flamingos and palm tree prints!!

So, I cut out a heavy card for a template approx 13x13 inches and cut all the napkins to be around the same size. Then pinned down and ironed out all the hems at about 5mm or a quarter of an inch.. That right there is enough to drive you bonkers. (BONKERS!) So tedious, but once that is done, all you need is a simple stitch and ta da! Look ma! Clean faces! and hands!

about a 5mm hem on all sides, pressed over twice and stitch!

Yeah, I know. My stitching is far from perfect, but it's done with love!

I've been slowing collecting old dress shirts of Jacob's, some old pyjamas that I love the print but can't bare throwing them away, and lots of other red and light blue fabrics. The goal... A quilted duvet cover for our king size doona/duvet! According to my calculations... (geeeeeeeeek warning)

I'm going to need a lot more squares!!!! Damn!

Any other ideas for using up scrap fabric? 

I'd love to here your ideas!!

xo

Upcycling a set of Chairs

Jacob found these four amazing chairs on the street a couple months back. Since then, he has stripped them clean of any upholstery (which there were layers of), tacks, nails stuffing, springs, webbing... not to mention dust and  more mouse poo then most people can handle. 

He has done such a nice job so far! We're finally giving them a good sand, and just last weekend we were able to replace some of the supports that were missing. 

The sanding will keep us going for a while, not to mention filling in all of those holes from the gazillions of nails taken out. Not to mention, staining and varnishing. Then - yes - then I get to find the perfect fabric. Can't wait to have them around a big table (that we haven't built yet) in our new house in Welly!!!

The Weekend.

According to my iPhone.

Jacob working on our chairs. And a sniff from Timmy.

Recycling Jars.

I have a serious problem.
(Well, according to Jacob.)

I love jars.
I collect them (sort of).
I have a stash of them.
I use them everyday.

Ok, maybe it's not a serious problem. But I love finding ways to reuse jars. Whether it's putting some chopped herbs in them to keep on the window sill, making a tonic or a tincture, bringing them to the shop to cut down on our plastic bag usage. I use them for storing buttons, paintbrushes, pencils, the list goes on...

Ok, maybe compulsive, since I can't bear to put any in the recycle bin. And when I do, it's heartbreaking.
Yeah. Compulsive.

I have found though, salsa jars are by far by favourite for everyday use.They are perfect for :

• Making Bath Salts
• Gifting Jams and Preserves
• Storing small quantity things like homemade teas and small amounts of herbs

And my new happy solution - the perfect container for bring homemade yogurt to work! It's especially good to throw into the bike basket, because the lid will stay on heaps better than those old nasty plastic containers!

My yogurt from morning tea devoured. 

Reuse the Refuse!

Yay for recycling and re-purposing! These are some sweet ideas you can try! Give it a go and let me know!

Reuse those old T's & knit (or crochet) yourself some handy washclothes.

via craftster

Candlelit Sav Blanc? Sure! Thanks! (ps. Mom, think Christmas!)

via Elle UK

Reuse the gift wrap and save your books!

(Sneaky for the embarrassing romance novels on the train)

via real simple

Maps, magazines, scrap paper, more old gift wrap... 

via howaboutorange

The Wardrobe of Doom!

As I was getting dressed yesterday morning, I made the comment to Jacob, something of the lines of – Why must all my clothes feel like they are falling apart? 

As I put on my favorite pair of pirate argyles socks (yes, pirate argyles), I realised that besides the hole in the side (where our faithful nugget, Timmy, once took out his aggression on preppy pirates everywhere) each of the heels were completely worn through. I then put on a pair of massively scuffed boots, which were flagged as ‘vegan’ because they were made completely out of synthetic / man-made materials. 

Insert big sigh here. Don’t get me started…

The last few months, I’ve become more and more aware of the things I’ve been buying – trying to make the least impact as possible on the plant, and as little impact on my wallet. But with all of this in mind, I am still haunted by the Ghost of Impulse-Purchases Past.. One thing that I have learned is - the better care you take of your things, the longer they will last. But when your closet is sometimes full of bargain-basement dresses made in various countries that you’ve never been to, the guilt starts to unravel, just like hems on those cheaply made fabrics. Later that day, Jacob had sent me a link to a news article that said exactly what I have been thinking!

"Large (fashion and clothing) corporations are looking for ways to make money, so they create a need, where this isn't one, I don't think." Flint believes that to fight this created need and to help save our planet, we should buy fewer clothes, be aware of where and how our clothes are made, and make the clothes that we own last longer.

Thank you! 

Finally! 

My mom reckons that even when I was a kid, I would buy second hand clothing, not because I understood why or where it came from, but because I was always into older styles. And being the youngest of 3 sisters – almost everything I had, was second hand. Gotta love the pre-loved hand-me-downs! But the last couple years, I’ve been limited for trips to the Salvos and other Op-Shops, which I’m seeing now as REALLY taking its toll. 

image via flipandstyle

It’s time to get back to reality. It’s time to get back to thrifting good quality items. It’s time to get back to my sewing machine and learn properly how to mend and sew with amazing fabrics!

Aquaponics - Part 2

After seeing the Aquaponics system that was installed for a family on Costa's Garden Odyssey, Jacob has been enormously inspired to build his own.

He found some instructions online on how to build one using some new and recycled materials. Every weekend for about a month or so, he has been working like a mad scientist in our shed.

The start of the system

It's been, as he puts it, a lesson in trial and error. But it's in the testing phase finally! Testing in essence is the point where we've been dumping in water and just seeing if there are any leaks. And of course, there are some minor ones. But nothing massive which is a plus!

Getting there! About half way done at this point.

After a few trips to the random hydroponics places and the largest aquarium shop I've ever seen – the progress looks good!

So, Jacob's mad scientist skills are totally paying off! Soon we will have yummy plants and eventually yummy home grown fish!

*finally. on holiday...

I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas! I've chatted with the family back home, and yes, I am jealous they had a white Christmas - Jacob and I had our first Christmas alone... with Timmy of course! It was lovely!

My stay-cation started with a new van Hulst Christmas eve tradition... Tandoori Chicken that Jacob marinated for 2 days and popped on the BBQ. Very nice! We decorated our mini-tree and watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (one of the 2 best Christmas movies ever, only tied with A Christmas Story). We were also visited by the Christmas Huntsman... Bahhh!!!(Apologizes for the iPhone pics on this one... )

And sweet little Timmy fell asleep waiting for Santa....

Christmas morning is for sleeping in. But saw my xmas pressie from Jacob. Yay!!! New big canvases! And some adorable artwork he mastered on the plastic covering. I almost don't want to use them and ruin his artwork!! I crocheted him a neck warmer with some nice merino wool and some sweet old vintage US Navy sailor buttons I had. I'm going to make myself one. I love it!

We had a few soy flat whites, a few mimosas with super freshly squeezed orange juice (thanks to Jenny's xmas gift from about 10 years ago, yes, my fancy 1950's orange juice maker..), a couple crossiants with my homemade cherry plum jam.. and then Jacob went nuts in the kitchen... Eggs with Gravalax and onions and chili. Oh goodness - Yum!!!

They rest of the day we lounged, went for a walk around the park with Timmy. Then came back to make dinner, Bugs!!!! I made some potato salad and peach salsa. Yes, we basically just pigged out all day!
 

Yum!!!

I spent some time later in the day with my camera around the house. The light was perfect and I couldn't resist.

 

Jacob scored heaps of fruit from a friend... Fruit salad, stewed applesauce, and the cherry plums from the tree in the front yard...

 We played Rummy on Xmas Eve - proof I won!

Timmy's new hobby. Chewing books. Ugh.

 

And my catching up on the crochet projects. Including Jacob's xmas gift.

Anyway. Back to doing some domesticness that is catching up on laundry and grey-watering the garden.
xo